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About Us
Our Mission
To reach our community with the Gospel while building up the body of Christ.
What We Believe
Below is not an exhaustive list, but a summarization of what the scriptures teaches on major doctrines.
Statement of Faith
1. God
We believe in one God, the Maker, Preserver, and Ruler of all things, and eternally existing, manifested in three personal distinctions known respectively as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributions and perfections.
2. Jesus Christ- His person and work
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man. (John l:l-3; Luke 1:35)
3. Holy Spirit - His person and work
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; and that He is the supernatural agent in the new birth, indwelling and sealing unto the day of redemption.
4. Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the verbal, plenary, inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith, doctrine, and practice, inerrant in the original writings, preserved throughout all ages, infallible and God-breathed, holding to a literal interpretation.
5. Depravity of Mankind
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God and by the direct act of God but that through Adam’s sin the entire human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. We believe man is totally depraved and utterly unable to remedy this lost condition.
6. Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.
7. Eternal Security and Assurance of the Believer
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever.
8. The Believer
The Believer's New Nature. We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural.
9. The Ministry and Spiritual Gifts
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts; that the gifts of evangelists, pastors, and teachers are sufficient for the "perfecting of the saints" today; and that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith in accord with His own will for the sick, needy, and afflicted. Prophesying and the giving of knowledge beyond that revealed in Scripture ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed.
10. The Church
We believe the Church is the body and bride of Christ, Who is the Bridegroom, and it is made up of all born-again persons of this present church age.
11. The Ordinances
We believe that the ordinances which are committed to the local church are baptism and the Lord's Supper.
12. The Personality of Satan
We believe that God created the angel Lucifer, who through the sin of pride became Satan, the author of sin and the cause of the fall; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire.
13. The Eternal State
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.
14. The Lord's Day
We believe that the first day of the week is to be observed as the Lord's Day and is a day of rest for Christian fellowship, worship and communion with God.
15. Civil Government
We believe that the civil government is of divine appointment for the interest and good order of human society. We believe magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored, and obeyed except in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the only Lord of the conscience, and the Prince of the kings of the earth.
16. The Second Coming and Advent of Christ
We believe in that "Blessed Hope", the personal, imminent, pre-tribulation and premillennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and in His subsequent return to earth, with His saints, to establish His millennial kingdom.
17. Marriage and Sexuality
We believe the term “marriage” has only one meaning, that being marriage sanctioned by God which joins one man and one woman in a single exclusive union as delineated in Scripture. We believe God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe any form of sexual immorality is sinful and offensive to God, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography, any attempt to change one’s sex, or disagreement with one’s biological sex.
Our Pastor
Bert Bunner
Pastor Bert has been the pastor of Grace Baptist Church since June of 2014.
Bert grew up in Jasper, Indiana and graduated from Jasper High School in 1990. Jasper is just a few hours from Coatesville, but our pastor took the long way to get here.
Bert grew up with 2 dreams: to be a soldier and to be a preacher. He kept the latter a secret and pursued the former after high school. Bert loved the army, becoming a paratrooper and serving in the Gulf War in 1991. During his time in the 82nd Airborne Division, he was able to make 42 jumps from an airplane and 1 from a helicopter. He was rather decorated with the Combat Infantryman's Badge, Air Assault and Senior Parachutist Badges, Meritorious Service Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal among his awards. Besides the Gulf War he was deployed to Bosnia twice in the 90s, and was stationed at Ft. Bragg, NC, Baumholder, Germany, and Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. He left the army at the rank of Staff Sergeant (E6).
In 1993, Bert married Candy Fuesler, a friend from his home church. They dated long distance for 3 years until Candy graduated from Pensacola Christian College. Their daughter, Cassandra, was born in North Carolina in 1995 and a year later, their son, Isaac, was born in Germany.
While stationed in Germany, the Bunners attended a small church right outside the army base. It was through serving in this church, the Lord began to remind him of that dream he had kept a secret. Pastor Bert preached his first sermon from Psalm 101 at the Grace Baptist Church of Baumholder, Germany in 1997.
In 2000 after he was reassigned to the 101st Airborne Division, the Lord would not let our pastor rest until he had surrendered his life to the Gospel ministry. He determined not to reenlist and left the army after 11 years in 2001. That spring the Bunners moved to Powell, Tennessee so Bert could attend Crown College of the Bible. "Those were difficult years, but God was faithful and our family learned to trust God and grew closer together."
After graduating in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Pastoral Ministries, the Bunners moved again to their first ministry at the Bethel Baptist Church in Hartselle, Alabama in 2006. Those were precious years where their children grew up in the Christian school. Candy taught 5th and 6th grade and Bert served in various roles as youth pastor, assistant pastor, principal, administrator, teacher, senior saint director, and eventually interim pastor.
The Bunners' children are grown and married now and live in other states. They enjoy being grandparents and travel to see them as much as possible. Pastor Bert enjoys reading and running, completing his first (and last) marathon when he was 40. He has done several half marathons, some as recently as 2023. He is a lifelong fan of the Dallas Cowboys and was able to attend a game in Dallas in 2006 on Thanksgiving. Bert and Candy travel more now than they ever did, including trips to Israel in 2017, Belize in 2020, and twice to Hawaii. Candy's mom lives with them in their home in Danville.
Mail to - PO Box 13
8246 S State Road 75, Coatesville, IN
(765) 386-7515
pastorbert@gracebaptistcoatesville.org